Grade Retention
Education news, analysis, and opinion about holding students back for a year in school, including the practice of “redshirting”
69ý & Literacy
Spotlight
Spotlight on 69ý & Literacy
This Spotlight will help you learn how classroom conversations can boost reading proficiency, examine literacy retention policies, and more.
69ý & Literacy
Why Do Literacy Retention Policies Target 3rd Grade?
Literacy-related retention policies typically hold back students at the end of 3rd grade. Education experts offer insights into why.
69ý & Literacy
What the Research Says
There's a Cost to Holding Back Struggling Readers. See How Much
A new study calculates the cost to students and districts of "read by grade 3" policies.
Student Achievement
What the Research Says
Keeping Younger 69ý Back a Grade Shows Benefits Over Time, Study Finds
New longitudinal research shows reading and math benefits for retaining younger students who need more time.
69ý & Literacy
3rd Grade 69ý Retention: Why the Research Is Complicated
Retention laws are common—about half of the states in the country have a policy. They’re also controversial.
69ý & Literacy
Webinar
69ý and Retention Mandates: Is it Effective?
Learn how states are overhauling how reading is taught, and why one component—holding back students who aren’t reading on grade level—is among the most controversial requirements.
Student Achievement
The Sibling Effect: How Retaining Struggling Readers Impacts Brothers and Sisters
A 2002 Florida law that requires struggling readers to repeat a grade also affected their siblings, a study finds.
Student Achievement
3rd Grade 69ý Retention: Three Recent Developments
New research on the impact of retention is complicating states' approaches to retaining 3rd graders who aren't yet proficient.
69ý & Literacy
Michigan's 3rd Grade Retention Law Held Back More Black and Low-Income 69ý
Parents' advocacy and ability to navigate exemptions might explain the difference, new research finds.
Student Achievement
What Does Research Say About Grade Retention? A Few Key Studies to Know
Does holding students back help or hurt them in the long run?
69ý & Literacy
Third Grade 69ý Retention Is Back. Should It Be?
Does requiring struggling students to repeat 3rd grade lead to better reading results? It's complicated.
69ý & Literacy
Pandemic Prompts Some States to Pass Struggling 3rd Graders
As families wrestle with online learning, a pandemic economy and mental health difficulties, some states are delaying 3rd grade retention.
How to Help 69ý Recover From a Broken Year
What schools do to help students bounce back from stress, trauma, and disrupted schooling—and whether retention helps or hurts kids.
Student Achievement
From Our Research Center
Tens of Thousands of 69ý May Have to Repeat a Grade. Should They?
The prospect of a spike in retentions flies in the face of a broad-based consensus that moving students ahead is usually more effective.